Superman: The Ark of Krypton
Chapter 77
by
Jason Richard
Superman couldn't afford to panic. He had to stay calm, though this was easier said than done. Within a pitch black, airtight box probably deep into space and didn't have enough energy to force his way out. He was a understandably rather nervous, but he couldn't let himself panic. He took a deep breath and tried to think this problem through.
Despite the mechanical banging noise just outside the box. What kind of ship was this?
He needed to figure out what he was capable of in this state, and he had to do it without wasting his energy. This, he figured, would be easier said than done.
He wasn't going to test his strength. Lobo was his equal even at full strength, so clearly he had the advantage there. What about speed? How was he to test that using as little energy as possibly? How could he think when the ship was making that banging noise like that?
Eventually, despite the noise, he had an idea. He unclasped his cape and bunched it up, dropping it while paying very careful attention to how fast it fell. He did this without tapping into his energy reserves. Next he picked it up again and repeated the experiment, only this time using a small amount of energy. Rather than sending it throughout his entire body, he sent it only to his brain, about the same amount his brain should normally receive when he used his speed.
This wouldn't let him move fast, but it would make the world seem slower to him, allowing him to gauge his speed without using much energy. The cape definitely fell slower this time, though not as slowly as he would have liked.
He put the cape back on and thought again, still trying to put that banging noise out of his mind. Heat vision used more energy than anything else, so that was clearly out. Ice breath, on the other hand, needed hardly any energy at all, as it revolved around removing energy rather than adding it, so he tested it. The difference between ice breath at full power and ice breath at that moment was negligible. That was good.
X-Ray vision used too much, and probably wouldn't help enough to be worth the risk. Super hearing was rather automatic, but fortunately used very little energy. He could also minimize his energy use by sticking to speed without flying.
So speed, ice breath, and super hearing where what he had to work with. It was a start. Now all he needed was a plan.
If only that banging would cut it out.
…
The moment Lois Lane walked into the Daily Planet Perry White barked at her.
"Lane!" he shouted. "My office, now!"
She knew that tone of voice. Something big had just happened. She didn't waste time getting to that office.
The moment she shut the door White spoke up.
"Superman's been kidnapped," said White.
"What?!" demanded Lois. "How?!"
"That alien that attacked him before," said White. 'The one with the biker motif. He came back, started trashing up a city in India, and kidnapped Superman when he showed up, blasting him away in his ship."
That didn't even make sense. Superman beat that thing before. Why couldn't…
It hit her.
"Lytener," said Lois. "They took something from his mind...it must have been how to counter Superman's power, and I know he has that."
"Come again?" said White.
"Got a recording," said Lois. "He was talking with Lex Luthor himself."
Perry White looked at her in amazement and said, "I was going to send you to India, but there's no need. We already got the best angle in this story. And possibly the most concerning." he looked as if he suddenly realized the full implications of what they were talking about. "Great Caesar's Ghost! We just find out aliens exist and the only one who can protect us from them has been taken."
"People need to know," said Lois.
"I know that," said Perry White. "I want you on that article immediately."
...
Superman had nothing, no plan whatsoever. He had no doubt that the alien would take him to a planet with a red sun, which would drain his energy faster than anything else. The only way he could get an advantage again was to get to a yellow sun, but he had no way to do that. He couldn't pilot the ship after all.
And again, he wished that banging noise would just…
"Hey!" cried Lobo outside the box, "Quite that banging!"
And there was silence. Even the banging stopped. That was definitely strange. So that noise had nothing to do with Lobo's ship? So what was it then? Considering it stopped when Lobo spoke up it had to be intelligent. Could it be…
Did Braniac send a probe after him? Superman figured Braniac's sensors could tell if he was in trouble, so it was plausible, but he had no way of knowing. That noise could be from a Braniac probe, or it could be something else entirely.
If it was Branaic then an escape plan could work. While Superman distracted Lobo the probe could hack the ship and steer them towards a yellow sun. If it was something else, however…
The banging started again. Whatever it was it wanted Superman's attention. It was now or never. Superman would have to take a risk and make his move.